Knowing Your Place

You are seated with Christ at God's right hand...

Nothing is higher than that !
God loves you with an everlasting love...
Nothing is deeper than that !
He invites you to drink from the river of His delights...
Nothing is purer than that !
He shares His heart with you in communion...
Nothing is dearer than that !
He watches over you with tender mercies...
Nothing is kinder that that !
He is with you and will never leave you...
Nothing is nearer than that !
He leads you according to the counsel of His own will...
Nothing is wiser than that !
He faithfully feeds you from His word...
Nothing is truer than that !
He is in you and joined to your spirit...
Nothing is closer than that !

-Roy Lessin

Finding Justice in Injustice

by Charles R. Swindoll

And I saw something else under the sun:
In the place of judgment—wickedness was there,
in the place of justice—wickedness was there.
I thought in my heart,
"God will bring to judgment both the righteous
and the wicked;
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time for every deed."
—Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 NIV

It's not often, Father, that we make such a statement, but today we thank You for the injustices in life that have crippled us and broken us and crushed us. Unfair circumstances have bruised us deeply and beaten us into submission to You. Inequities have brought us to such a dead end that we can't see the way back out. The only direction we can look is up. We often think that our unjust circumstance is what has ruined our lives . . . when instead, it could be the means You have ordained to give us life. Father, if those people we know who have trudged through the valley of the shadow of death were not alive today, walking with You and telling us to keep going, where would we be? How much we need their examples and encouragement! Thank You for each one.

In light of Your sovereign grace, we thank You for blindness, for paralysis, for loss, for death, for broken dreams, for dissolved partnerships, and for disillusionment. In faith, we praise You for times of insecurity, failure, divorce, and even those when others have treated us unjustly. We see the storm, but You enable us to also see beyond the storm, so we trust You to make all things just in Your time. We believe that You sovereignly intend for good what others intentionally mean for evil.

We pray for those facing the frustration of injustice in these and dozens of other categories. We ask that they may be able to find in Jesus Christ the strength to go on . . . especially those who have almost decided to give up. We pray that they will offer everything to You in full surrender. Everything.

In the name of Jesus Christ, the Conqueror. Amen.

Courage for the Discouraged

by Charles R. Swindoll

I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of
destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.
—Psalm 40:1-2

Lord, we pray that You would bring relief when we are swamped with the ever-rising tide of discouragement. Grant deliverance for us who are caught in that swamp and start to slide into its slimy waters. Encourage our hearts as we face those depressing, dark moments that leave us feeling hopeless and believing the lie that things will never change. Father, give us hope beyond the heartbreaks we experience. We cling to the inspired words of the apostle Peter that if we humble ourselves before the mighty hand of God, You will lift us up. You will exalt us at the proper time. Discouragement keeps us humble, we confess, for we are never discouraged and bigheaded at the same time.

In humbleness, Father, we call upon You as Your children. We ask You to lift our spirits by transforming our minds. Strengthen us to see the value of dwelling on things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. Help us to fix our minds on heavenly things rather than on those earthly things that drag us down.

Give us a rallying point around Your grace, dear Lord. We need that point of focus, our times being as they are . . . and our moods so given to change. Thank You that Christ loves us and keeps on loving us. Thank You that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Thank You that the grace that saved us keeps us saved . . . regardless of our doubts and other weird feelings.

We also pray for those weary souls who have never met Your Son as Savior. How do they ever make it through the day? We ask that their burden of discouragement would be lifted by the realization that Jesus's death on the cross paid the complete price for their sins. Help them see past their pain to the reality that there is nothing they need to do or promise or change or give up or become . . . in order to be accepted by You. Help them to trust in Your Son. May they do so today.

Now to Him who is able to guard us from stumbling and to cause us to stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior . . . be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority . . . now and forever.

In His great name we pray. Amen.

Sticking with a Commitment

by Charles R. Swindoll

2 Corinthians 8:10-11

A full year before the apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, they had begun a project. No doubt they were filled with enthusiasm, the thrill of a fresh beginning. But with the passing of time, the newness had worn off. The spontaneous motivation to give had turned into a miserable marathon that dragged slowly on and on. So Paul urged them with a reminder of their commitment:

This is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. But now finish doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. (2 Corinthians 8:10-11)

Paul said, in effect, "Get with it! You made a commitment to get involved, to give, and to help out—now stick with that commitment!"

Becoming a giving person sounds exciting. But it costs something. It demands change, and no significant change ever got started without motivation and zeal.

Want a vivid illustration? Dieting. Oh, just the word brings up painful memories! Especially when I add exercising and jogging. Who hasn't had the experience? We finally get sick and tired of our flab. Zippers start ripping out; buttons pop off; the car leans dangerously to one side when we get in; the scales we step on punch out little cards that say, "Only one person at a time, please."

Okay, so we decide to thin down. In the fresh enthusiasm of zeal, we buy $100 sneakers, a couple $85 jogging outfits; we join a local fitness center (another $350); and we blow the dust off that miserable "Count Those Calories" booklet we bought years ago. We just know we're going to peel off 30 pounds!

The very first day we start with a flash. We hit the road, running like we're on fire. We drop our intake to 700 calories a day. We choke down dry toast, cottage cheese, sliced tomatoes, and boiled eggs! We snack on stuff that tastes like canary mix, and we sip on bitter herb tea until we think we're going to gag. By the third day, we're so sore we can only trot a half a block . . . so we get up later. Then Thanksgiving brings too many temptations, so we fudge . . . and finally gorge. In less than a month, our blimp is back in the hangar. And when the urge to exercise comes over us, we just lie down quietly until the urge goes away.

Sticking with any commitment is costly. And I can assure you, becoming a servant who gives and gives and gives to others is no exception. By comparison, it will make dieting look like a piece of cake (no pun intended).